Apicomplexa

American  

[ay-puh-kuhm-plek-suh] / ˌeɪ pə kəmˈplɛk sə /

noun

1. Microbiology. a large phylum of diverse parasitic protists whose unique motility involves gliding across surfaces and migrating into host tissues, where their invasion of host cells can cause any of a number of diseases, including malaria and toxoplasmosis, to develop. Also classified, especially formerly, as the phylum Sporozoa.

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